Author: mazhar

This class has brought many different issues to my attention that I previously never knew about. I’ve grown to understand that there are issues in the world that people tend to push to the back of their minds, because they’re not affected by them. Many of the topics I learned about in class I don’t believe directly apply to me, which is why I had never heard of them. However, I found them all very interesting to learn about.

I don’t think I’d ever heard of people working to censor websites for the general public previous to learning about it in class. The topic surprised me, yet it made so much sense. The Internet can’t sensor videos and pictures on its own, so of course there would be people out there censoring them for us. However, it did surprise me to know how many troubling things people post on the Internet that need to be censored.

I feel like I’ve learned quite a few disturbing things in this class. I’ve lost most of my hope for humanity. One topic that really bothered me was the working conditions in Apple factories in China. I wasn’t that surprised when I learned about this, but I was surprised not many people in America were doing anything about it. America fights so much for equality and rights for workers, yet no one is doing anything about workers in another country that are making products for Americans. However, I do understand that it is easy for people to push this issue out of their minds, because no one wants to let go of their phones.

The various projects we did in class really helped me apply some of the topics we learned. Everyone’s ideas for each project were also so different that they were useful in portraying everyone’s points of views. The hashtag activism project was the most informative, because it allowed me to research points of views of many different individuals. I also learned a lot about other topics from the ideas that other students in the class chose. The project required using a site, Twitter, that so many people use to communicate opinions on current problems in the world. Thus, exploring people’s tweets helped me gain knowledge about issues I previously hadn’t known that much about.

I think it is a good thing to learn about all of these negative things. Individuals in class have been saying we should learn some positive topics, but I think it’s more useful to educate others on the negative sides of the world. Maybe some student out there will end up solving one of these issues after learning about it in class. I’ve personally grown to be more understanding of other people’s problems and more willing to listen to opinions that people have regarding various topics. I think this is a great trait to take with me as I move forward in my college career. It’s important to be open-minded, and this class did exactly that for me.

I attended the design camp that explained the process of developing a website using WordPress. I created my own website using the techniques taught in the camp. Specific parts of WordPress were explained so that we would understand how to set everything up. It was really fun to design and set up a template for the type of vibe I was going for on my website. The process of creating it really made me understand the work that goes into developing a website.

I’ve always wanted to start my own bakery. I even have a logo developed for when I can actually start one. I used this time in the design camp to create a website for this imaginary bakery that I own. Even though I don’t actually have a running bakery, the knowledge from this camp will help me develop a website for it when need be. I also might change my major to Graphic Design, which somewhat involves developing websites. Thus, information from this camp will be useful in classes that I take for that major.

This is relevant to this class, because we used WordPress to post blogs. The class’s website was also developed using WordPress, so we’ve been using this program the entire semester. It can be used in many different ways. Creating a website using this program can allow someone to develop their own blog or simply create a website where they organize things they’ve created. We’ve talked a lot about different technologies in this class, and WordPress is one that would be really useful for someone who needs to voice their opinions. Someone in our class could start their own website and blog about things that we talked about in discussion.

The Twine project we did in class involved presenting a story/game about some relevant topic. A WordPress website could be used for similar purposes. It just wouldn’t be a game.

The readings about censoring pictures and videos online could be relevant to this topic of websites. I’m not sure if people also sensor overall websites that are developed, but I’m sure there are individuals out there who develop disturbing websites that need to be deleted. Workers in other countries could censor Websites developed using WordPress. Overall, this program is very useful when it comes to expressing ones ideas, which is quite relevant to what we’ve learned in class.

It was her turn to enter the room that they used to run the tests on various citizens. The room was sized to fit only one person. It was approximately the size of a small shower, and was bound to trigger panic attacks among any claustrophobics. Good thing she knew she wasn’t one. She was however, just like everyone else, deathly afraid of having nails drilled into her skull. She was also going to have all of the hair on her head shaved off, so that there would be no interference with the signals entering her brain. She already felt unattractive. This would only make it worse.

Everyone has to take the test once they turned 19, at least everyone who wants to have a proper job and make enough money to live a good life. The idea of the whole system is to assign everyone a career that best fits the way his or her brain works. When an individual takes the test and pursues the career that is assigned, the government pays the person enough money to live according to the person’s dependents. Of course, careers requiring college and a higher level of work are paid greater sums. This creates divisions among society, where lower status individuals live in the smaller homes and live normal lives, while the rich are awarded because of their natural brilliance or talent. Everyone lives based off of decisions made by a machine. A machine that apparently reads brain waves, records the size of different parts of the brain, and measures the chemicals located in the brain. All of these characteristics are entered into a formula that measures your brains capabilities. Thus, assigning you to a career that would best work for you and would make you useful to society.

Individuals who didn’t take the exam would be on their own. Most companies don’t hire people who haven’t been tested, because they’re not sure if the person would be qualified for the job. Even if that individual has a college degree, they most likely wouldn’t be hired. They could start their own business, but people wouldn’t trust it and the government wouldn’t help fund it. If you took the exam, but didn’t accept the assigned career, you could choose a different path for yourself. Of course, you probably wouldn’t get hired and would most likely end up living on the streets.

Some people feared the side effects and possibility of death caused by the machine. People reacted differently from the strong signals sent through wires into the brain. First, a steel hat is placed on the patient’s head. Then nails are used to drill holes through the hat and into the skull in order for the signals to pass. Accidents have occurred where the nails have pierced the brain, thus leading to the patient’s death. Millions have died since the machine was developed in 2020. Millions of others have become deformed, given birth to deformed babies, or gotten cancer. Others have gained special abilities. They’re the lucky ones.

The original creators, Broderick and Leighton Vaughn, had developed the machine to read minds. They were scientists who were funded by the government to invent mind reading technology for the military to use on terrorists and other criminals. A massive strike against the use of the machine and threats from other countries led the government to end the original purpose of the technology. They came to the idea of using it to create order in society. After doing various tests, they came to the conclusion that the machine was useful for understanding the intellectual capabilities people had. This led to its final purpose of essentially assigning jobs to individuals. This prevents competition among citizens for careers that are popular, and helps distribute individuals equally among careers that allow society to work efficiently.

Ever since the government had set these protocols, races have become more distributed among all possible career paths. People can no longer view race as a barrier, because the machine simply examines intellect through the brain and doesn’t detect race. Race has nothing to do with it. This equality has led most people to accept the machine, despite its drawbacks. People have the mindset that everyone is working the best job that they could possibly get. However, not everyone thinks this way.

She didn’t want to take the exam. She felt that she would rather live on the streets than go through with following a career that she didn’t love. She also didn’t want to end up living among the lower class citizens. They were highly disregarded in society, since they were viewed as incapable of understanding intellectual concepts. People saw them as dumb, since they were given careers requiring more physical labor than intellect. Health professions, engineers, and government positions were given the highest status in society. Creative individuals (artists, musicians, etc.) were regarded as unique, since their brains worked in ways that others didn’t. She hoped she would be assigned something she would love. The problem was, she didn’t really know what she loved.

All of a sudden, her name was called. She entered the room and sat on the wooden chair pushed up against the wall. She didn’t know what was in store for her. She realized her life would now depend on the calculations of a steel hat. What type of life would that be, she asked herself. If only she lived to find out.

The article starts off by describing and showing works of art created by various queer artists. I believe that starting the article off with strong pieces of art really impacts the reader, and gets his or her mind working before a point is made by the authors. The idea of a ‘queer rebellion’ is engraved more into the readers mind and portrayed more seriously through the structure of this article. This leads to the expected audience, which consists of the individuals who view queers as outsiders. The authors, Boyce and Chan, want to compile the voices of queer individuals from different races and create a community outside of the mainstream. As the authors put it, a “…third world.”

The authors want to explain the idea behind the Queer Rebellion, which is a space where queers can express themselves however they’d like. It is a world where they accept that they are outsiders, but where they come together to be inspired and revere their differences. They have artwork that fights racism and other pieces that tell the stories of the struggles that queer individuals go through because of their race.

I enjoyed the article, because it portrays the empowerment that the Queer Rebellion gives to queer individuals. I think queer colored people are put on the bottom of the chain and need to have a voice speak up for them. This Queer Rebellion is that voice. Art is one of the best ways to express opinions and stories, so the compilation of artwork created by different queer individuals was genius. Through personal experience of what society talks about and focuses on, I understand the invisibility of queer individuals that the article expresses. I feel like the issues queers go through aren’t highlighted in society. One question I have is, how will the artwork impact society as a whole? Do the queer rebels just want queers to be well known, or do they just want a world that they can all come together and feel welcome?

This article was developed in order to get the attention of individuals who are interested in the hashtag, #CancelColbert, which Suey Park developed. Park had a strong opinion on the racist slurs, regarding Asians, which Colbert referred to in his show. This led her to develop the hashtag, so that this topic could gain attention.

The article explains that Park received many negative responses regarding her opinions and the hashtag, because it simply shows her not being able to take a joke. It focuses on bringing light to the fact that people were hating on Park for no reason. The article also talks about how journalists who were involved in saying bad things about Park did it more for the power. Most of them believe that someone like Park doesn’t deserve to gain the attention on her opinions as much as she did, especially since she is a colored women. The author of the article, Julia Wong, believes that most journalists had the mindset of;  why does a nobody like Park get attention?

Wong also believes that the hate towards Park is unnecessary, since Park is just portraying her opinion. She hopes to reach journalists and other individuals who have posted negative comments, to let them know that they’re in the wrong. I believe that Wong is right, in the fact that people should be entitled to their opinions without having death threats thrown their way. It’s okay to disagree with someones opinions, but it’s not okay to threaten them and hate on them for the wrong reasons.

I have seen people say negative things towards others for no reason whatsoever. I don’t think it’s okay to do so, and feel that the people that hate on others don’t do it for the right reasons. They are most likely insecure in their own ways. I appreciate the fact that Wong posted her opinion on the hate towards Park and didn’t worry about what others would say to her. My question regards whether or not the people who post negative comments towards Park have any reasons other than the fact that they feel she can’t take a joke.

This title refers to a chapter in the book, “It’s Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens,” written by Danah Boyd. This chapter is about how social media is actually increasing social divisions among race, rather than bringing them together like people expected. Based off of this information, I believe that the book was targeted towards educated individuals who are interested in the social divisions that are brought on in schools among teenagers. Boyd is trying to educate people on the relationship between social media and issues regarding race.

The book was published by Yale University Press. This shows that it is mainly used for educational purposes for people looking to gain more knowledge on the topic of segregation among teens. The book has a lot of valid information, because Boyd talked to many teens to get the information that she did regarding the topic of the chapter. The main idea of the text that I read was to talk about how digital technology that is developed always ends up being biased towards a specific race. Different social media platforms also end up being targeted towards a specific race or group of people. A quote from the book gives an example of this segregation in technology, “…many image-capture technologies have historically had difficulty capturing darker-skinned people because they rely on light…”

Regarding social media, many people thought that being online meant that nobody knew who you were, which would ultimately end the segregation. However, platforms such as Facebook and Myspace give out identities of its individual users. This means that segregations in schools, where students usually group together with people of their own race or social standing, will never be broken by social media. A girl named Kat explained how more of the ghetto students used Myspace in her school, while the white kids moved onto Facebook. This shows another way in which segregation occurs within social media, without even realizing it.

I understand where this article is going with the idea of segregation among races in school and social media. However, I don’t think anything will ever end this separation among people. Most people feel that they can relate more with people of their own race. I believe that it comes naturally. I can relate what Boyd talks about in this chapter to how my high school worked. You’d see specific sports associated with specific races, and while Facebook was used by everyone, most of the comments that were left on peoples pages were by people of their own race.

I appreciated how Boyd related technology being designed in terms of specific races, whether it’s done intentionally or not. I never realized this, until I read this chapter. I also appreciate how she started the chapter with a conversation with a girl who is negatively affected by segregation that occurs within her hometown. She doesn’t like how people associate gangs with black people. People stare if a group of black people are together and this prevents her from being able to go out as much as she’d like to. Her school is very segregated, to the point where they have specific names for groups of different races. This was a strong example of separation among races in schools and was a good way to start off the chapter.

One question that I have is, now that its come to the attention that some technologies are easier for specific races to use, should companies make other designs that are targeted towards other specific races? Are the current designs biased enough to begin making designs for specific races?

This article, written by Laura Hudson, focuses on the different opinions people have of Twine, a game developing system. It provides reasons for the development of the types of games on Twine and names various developers of those games. The context of the article is geared towards older and more educated people, since it was published in the New York Times. Not many young individuals read the New York Times, and if they do, they are most likely educated.

Twine just recently became more known and began reaching more players. That’s why this article was recently written. As Twine is gaining popularity, it is also gaining more controversy. The article is trying to reach people of educated opinions and explain what exactly Twine was created for and how it benefits different groups of people. It does this through the views and stories of various developers on Twine, such as Porpentine.

Laura Hudson wants people to understand the benefits of Twine compared to the negative thoughts some people have against it. This article will reach people who don’t have much opinions on Twine to understand what it is before they compile negative opinions from others once Twine gains even more popularity.

I agree with everything that Hudson explains and portrays in the article. Previous to reading the article, I had thoughts that Twine wasn’t really a game. When I think of games I usually think of something that is fun and exciting. However, she portrayed Twine as the type of gaming world that allows the masses to participate in. Most game developers are men, which is why video games are usually the same thing. However, most Twine game developers are women, and most Twine games give different perspectives to what games are about.

I’ve played a couple of Twine games, and I experienced what Hudson portrays as the feelings one gets when playing some of these games. Depression Quest is the game that really got to me. Hudson explains that it makes the player feel empathy and really understand what a person that has depression goes through. I felt pretty bad after the game ended and did feel empathy for anyone that goes through that on a daily basis. One question that I do have is whether mostly women play games on Twine, or if it’s an equal distribution between men and women.